Terps Football: 2019 Recruiting Preview – Offense

With the 2018 recruiting season all but wrapped up, Maryland head coach DJ Durkin and his coaching staff have turned the majority of their attention towards 2019. As is typically the case, next year’s recruiting class will be full of local blue-chip talent. In this article, we’ll take an early look at the team’s targets on the offensive side of the ball.

Quarterback

4-star Sam Howell (Monroe, NC)

Durkin usually likes to take at least one quarterback in each of his recruiting classes, and it looks like Howell is their guy in 2019. He is the only signal caller that the team has made a scholarship offer to so far, and hails from offensive coordinator Walt Bell’s primary recruiting ground in North Carolina. While he only stands about 6’1″, Howell is built very well for a high school junior and has already received scholarship offers from Arkansas, Clemson, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee, among others.

Running Back

4-star Devyn Ford (Stafford, VA)

4-star Jamal Speaks (Upper Marlboro, MD)

4-star Rahmir Johnson (Oradell, NJ)

4-star Josh McKenzie (Oradell, NJ)

3-star Keilan Robinson (Washington, DC)

3-star Joachim Bangda (Baltimore, MD)

3-star Jordan Houston (Oakton, VA)

3-star TyQuan Brown (Woodbridge, VA)

3-star Josh Henderson (Princeton, NJ)

UNR Zykamren Robinson (Spartanburg, SC)

As you can see, the 2019 recruiting class is full of talented local running backs. Ford is the 2nd-best recruit in the state of Virginia, and Speaks is the 3rd-best in Maryland. Johnson and McKenzie are teammates at Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey. With Ty Johnson graduating after the 2018 season, and Lorenzo Harrison III moving on after 2019, the Terrapins are clearly looking to add to their stable of running backs in this class.

Wide Receiver

4-star Demarcco Hellams (Hyattsville, MD)

4-star Isaiah Hazel (Upper Marlboro, MD)

4-star Ramel Keyton (Marietta, GA)

4-star Tayvion Robinson (Virginia Beach, VA)

3-star Cam Hart (Olney, MD)

3-star Dean Engram (Washington, DC)

3-star Quendarius Jefferson (Simpsonville, SC)

3-star Seneca Milledge (Dayton, OH)

Hellams and Hazel are two of Maryland’s top early targets in the 2019 recruiting class, and they come in as the #2 and #3 recruits in the state, respectively. Both are built very well, standing above 6 feet tall, and fit the larger wide receiver model that Bell seems to prefer. Cornerbacks coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is the primary recruiter for both players.

Tight End

3-star DeAndre Jules (Germantown, MD)

Tight end isn’t a priority position for the Terrapins in the 2019 recruiting class, and they’ve offered just one player at the position so far. Wide receivers coach Chris Beatty is leading his recruitment effort, though Jules could end up being recruited as a defensive end.

Offensive Tackle

4-star William Putnam (Tampa, FL)

4-star Xavier Truss (Warwick, RI)

3-star Donavan Beaver (Fredericksburg, VA)

3-star Zachary Franks (Baltimore, MD)

UNR William Harrod (Fort Washington, MD)

The number of local blue-chip offensive tackles seems to be lower than usual this year, as the coaching staff is looking elsewhere for their recruits at the position. Putnam is the 13th-best tackle in the country, and Truss is the top player in the state of Rhode Island. Beaver is the team’s top local target, and he holds other offers from Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Offensive Guard

4-star Evan Neal (Bradenton, FL)

4-star Zeke Correll (Cincinnati, OH)

Neal is the 4th-best offensive guard in the 2019 recruiting class, and he is simply enormous. Standing at 6’7″ and weighing in at 378 pounds, he’s hard to miss on the field. Neal is a former Alabama commit, and currently holds offers from Florida State, Georgia, Miami (FL), Oklahoma, and many others. Correll is Maryland’s other target at the position, and holds other offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin, among others.

Zack Kiesel

Zack is a financial analyst for a defense contractor in Washington, DC. The Owings Mills native focuses most of his efforts on Maryland Football recruiting and individual coach and player pieces; but also covers Terps Basketball. He has established relationships with Big Ten beat reporters across the conference, which he utilizes in his game previews. Now a Sr. Terps Analyst for BSL, Zack can be reached at: [email protected]